64 posts from March 2011

Mar 31, 2011

“Is there something wrong with being Muslim in this country? The answer is no, that’s not America.”

-General Colin Powell –

National Campaign to Share the Untold Stories of Muslims in America

62% of Americans have never met a Muslim.

Do you know a Muslim? Share your story through Youtube.

CALL TO ACTION
Recent mosque protests and congressional hearings on American Muslims are all unfortunate examples of a rising tide of fear.

This climate of suspicion towards our fellow Americans compromises the great values that our country was founded upon.

We are calling on concerned Americans like yourself to share a real life story about a Muslim friend, neighbor, or colleague that you admire.

Be the first to upload your video story to be included in this new national campaign.

HOW IT WORKS

Please submit only one video that is under three minutes. Once you’ve uploaded your video, send us the link via e-mail with the subject heading “My Muslim Story.”

QUICK TIPS

Positioning

Please sit directly in front of the camera/webcam and make sure to look into it when you speak.

Sound quality
Please make sure to record your video in a quiet setting. Keep machinery and walking traffic in mind when recording.

Lighting
Try to have light shine on your face from behind the camera. Natural lighting is superior to artificial letting. The best time of the day to use natural lighting is one hour before sunset. Avoid recording at night or in the dark room.

Youtube Account
In order to upload your video, you must have a valid YouTube account. If you don’t have an account, sign up at www.youtube.com.

DEADLINE

Deadline for all story submissions is Friday April 15that 11:59pm.

HAVE A GREAT STORY BUT NO CAMERA?

If you have a great story but don’t have a camera to record it, the first 30 stories will qualify to receive a free flip cam courtesy of UPF. (www.theflip.com). For more information, send us an e-mail with the word “FREE FLIP CAM” in the subject heading.

BECOME A STORYSEEKER!

We’re always on the lookout for stories from people with Muslim friends. If you want to join our team of storyseekers, please contact us (see below).

ABOUT UPF

This campaign is being spearheaded by Unity Productions Foundation(http://www.upf.tv), a nonprofit foundation that works to create peace through the media.

Join international fashion icon and social entrepreneur BiBi Russell for a presentation and discussion on Doing Good in Style. Featured in Asiaweek as one of the 20 people to watch in the millennium, Bibi Russell will share her journey from global super-model to a world leader in the fashion industry, and creating the concept of “Fashion for Development.”

Interested in a career in community organizing but wondering how to move forward?

The Community Organizing Residency (COR) is a six-month, paid residency for people from different faith backgrounds who want to make community organizing their profession. They will gain social justice experience working with leading community organizing groups in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Organizers bring people together to act on their shared values and interests, to create more meaning in their lives, and to build a better world. Interweaving relationships, motivation, strategy, and action, they build powerful communities to influence the decision and policies that affect their lives.

There are two paths into COR. Path A is for individuals seeking a full-time, paid placement in a top-tier community organizing group. Path B is for individuals currently working in congregations, unions, or community groups who are seeking, leadership training, mentorship, an opportunity to explore other faith traditions and a cohort of peers.

Residencies begin September 14, 2011 and end March 14, 2012. Applicants accepted through Path A will receive a $17,000 stipend and health care. To apply for Path A or Path B, submit your application by April 8, 2011. Applications can be found at rootedinfaith.org

The Community Organizing Residency is an initiative of the Jewish Funds for Justice, with program support from the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute, the Poverty Initiative at the Union Theological Seminary, and the Jewish Organizing Initiative. For more information contact: residency@jewishjustice.org

Designed for people who believe that changing the world begins with positive change at the interpersonal level, users are invited to add their story to the many others that exist around the globe. While the site is open to all, it is especially for those in the Arab world, whose stories of positive change are often underrepresented in media. A single story has the ability to change attitudes and behaviour, dispelling the myth that the world is black and white or that stereotypes define people or actions. If one story has such power, imagine the potential of hundreds!

Mar 27, 2011

For many U.S. Muslims, the American dream is fading as they endure the fear and suspicion that their religion, race or national origin seems to generate. Yet, to many employers’ credit, the sensationalist attitudes reflected in some news reports typically don’t carry over to the workplace.

Across the country, dozens of Muslims have actively engaged in the American political process, running for -- and winning -- elected offices. From a mayor in New Jersey; to state representatives in North Carolina, New Hampshire, Iowa, Maryland and Missouri; to congressmen in Minnesota and Indiana, American politicians from the Muslim faith are increasingly in political positions.

Mar 25, 2011

In the storybook version most of us learned in school, the Pilgrims came to America aboard the Mayflower in search of religious freedom in 1620. The Puritans soon followed, for the same reason. Ever since these religious dissidents arrived at their shining “city upon a hill,” as their governor John Winthrop called it, millions from around the world have done the same, coming to an America where they found a welcome melting pot in which everyone was free to practice his or her own faith.

The problem is that this tidy narrative is an American myth. The real story of religion in America’s past is an often awkward, frequently embarrassing and occasionally bloody tale that most civics books and high-school texts either paper over or shunt to the side. And much of the recent conversation about America’s ideal of religious freedom has paid lip service to this comforting tableau.